The Finnish star of the Colorado Avalanche Mikko Rantanen was injured in the game against the Edmonton Oilers in the night’s NHL round.
Swedish pack of Oilers Mattias Ekholm tackled Ranta at the beginning of the second period, and the Finn had to be escorted out of the rink. He did not return to the match. According to Colorado, Rantanen injured his upper body.
Ekholm was not punished for the situation, but Rantanen’s teammate was Jack Johnson received a two-minute suspension after a tackle.
– It was sad to see him limping off the ice. I never want to tackle someone so they get hurt. But I saw the situation 15 times in the break and I don’t know what I could have done differently. It was a shoulder-to-shoulder situation, and it happened so quickly, Ekholm said According to the Sportsnet channel.
– I usually just go after the puck, I don’t usually hit that hard. He didn’t seem to expect that.
The match was tied 2–2 before Rantanen left, but the Oilers took a 4–2 lead in the set with Ekholm and Evander Kane with hits. In the final Connor McDavid and Kane scored both man goals and the Oilers won 6–2.
Rantanen managed to grab an assist from the match of Jonathan Drouin to a 1–1 draw. Artturi Lehkonen in turn assisted Colorado’s 2–1 hit.
With the win, the Oilers secured their place in the playoffs. Colorado’s place in the spring games was already certain. In the round, the places of Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs were also confirmed.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the Washington Capitals. That’s a point behind the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are tied for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs.
Aho as a hero
Carolina Hurricanes Sebastian Aho became the decider again when the Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals 4–2.
The Finnish striker scored the winning goal with a 3-2 victory with barely two minutes left in the game. The winning goal was the 55th of Aho’s career. More than the Finns, they have only finished with bucks Teemu Selänne (110) and Jari Kurri (72). Olli Jokinen is 54.
Carolina’s match, which secured its place in the playoffs, got off to a rough start when the Capitals’ Russian hero Alexander Ovechkin took his team to a 2–0 lead. Ovechkin has now scored 851 goals in the NHL and is second in the all-time scoring list Wayne Gretzky after (894).
Recently acquired from Pittsburgh as Aho’s chain mate Jake Guentzel narrowed in the second inning, and in the third the Hurricanes came close and over by Martin Necas and Aho with overpowering hits.
Guentzel, who recorded 2+1 performances, hit the Final Readings into an empty goal five seconds before the final buzzer. He was chosen as the first star of the match, Aho as the second.
– We had to go two goals behind at the beginning, but you have to remember that we played against one of the all-time top scorers. The way we fought back says a lot about our team, Aho said after the match.
The head coach of the team Rod Brind’Amour praised Guentzel’s quick adjustment to Carolina.
– He fits wherever we put him and improves everyone’s performance. That’s what great players do, Brind’Amour said.
Washington’s goal Darcy Kuemper stretched into the path of the puck 41 times, Carolina Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves.
Luukkonen shines
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen represented by the Buffalo Sabers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4–2. With the win, the Sabers moved to within four points of the last wild card playoff spot in the East. It is the Flyers who hold that spot.
The Finnish keeper made 32 saves in the match and was chosen as the first star of the match and his team’s Masterton Trophy candidate. The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association presents the award annually to the player who best demonstrates perseverance, sportsmanship and commitment to hockey.
The Finns are also nominated this year by the Anaheim Ducks Urho Vaakanainen and the Montreal Canadiens Joel Armia.
The team’s Swedish defender by Rasmus Dahlin Luukkonen is the backbone of the team.
– The fact that “Upi” is on the finish line is something incredible. He keeps us involved in matches and creates momentum with his saves, Dahlin said.
The winning goal and the 4–2 decision numbers struck Jack Quinnfor whom the hits were the first since he returned to the lineup at the end of March after a lower body injury.
Anaheim-Seattle 1-3 (0-1, 1-2, 0-0)
Arizona-Las Vegas 7-4 (0-0, 1-4, 6-0)
A: Matias Maccelli 0+1.
Edmonton-Colorado 6-2 (2-2, 2-0, 2-0)
C: Mikko Rantanen 0+1, Artturi Lehkonen 0+1.
Carolina-Washington 4-2 (0-2, 1-0, 3-0)
C: Sebastian Aho 1+0.
Detroit-NY Rangers 3-4 (1-2, 2-1, 0-1)
Buffalo-Philadelphia 4-2 (1-0, 2-1, 1-1)
B: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 32/34 saves.
NHL round scorers and standings.
Updated at 9:51: Added Ekholm’s comment.